Angelo Luigi Colombo

Today is a de facto Italian-American pride day as Italian communities across the United States wave Il Tricolore in honor of Angelo Luigi Colombo, the founder of Columbus Tubing.

Colombo began selling his steel tubing in 1919 near Milan, Italy. His tubes were used for ski poles, electrical equipment, early motorcycle and car manufacturers, and bed maddresses, but early on he focused on the Italian bicycle industry. His tubes were the first CroMo butted tubing used in cycling.

Angelo Luigi’s son Antonio Colombo took over management of Columbus Tubing in 1977. The following year, Antonio Colombo also too over as president of Cinelli Bicycles. Cinelli and Columbus are now divisions of Gruppo SpA.

Though the western slopes of the Appenines separate Milan from the Ligurian Sea, there’s less than 100 miles to travel from Milan to Genoa, the coastal city from which another (in)famous Columbus hails, so it’s conceivable the founder of Columbus is related in some way to Cristoforo Colombo.